The present invention relates generally to hair care products. More particularly, though not exclusively, the present invention relates to a blow dryer nozzle used for straightening naturally curly hair.
Hair generally is formed with a cuticle (the outer layer), a cortex (an inner layer), and a medulla (the innermost layer). The spiraling nature of naturally curly hair, particularly African American hair, is caused by the shaft of the hair having a flat cross-section. Additionally, the cuticle of the hair serves to maintain the curly nature of the hair through a thick and durable covering of keratin proteins.
It has often been a desire of people having curly hair to straighten their hair, such as by combing and/or brushing the hair. A number of combs have been designed specifically for use with curly hair, such as the Afro pick, and a comb having holes along the spine of the comb to allow the hair a space to turn and unwind. Despite these straightening actions, however, the hair is only pulled straight for an instant, and due to the curly nature of the hair, the hair returns to its original curvature.
In order to keep the hair in a straightened state, a chemical relaxer is often applied to the hair. Chemical relaxers typically consist of a strong alkaline chemical, such as lye, and require that hair care technicians exhibit a great deal of caution in order to avoid damaging the hair, or burning the scalp of the person being treated. Moreover, due to the harshness of the chemical relaxers, it is important that the chemicals are only left on the hair for a limited period of time. In fact, chemicals left on the hair too long may even result in the hair breaking.
As an alternative to the chemical straighteners, the hair may be straightened by pressing and curling the hair. Pressing includes the application of extreme heat to the hair in order to "press out" the curls. One device used in the pressing process is a pressing comb, also known as the straightening comb. The pressing comb is made of a heavy metal and formed with a single row of teeth. The heavy metal material allows for the comb to be heated, such as by placing the comb in a heating device, and then retains the heat during the combing process. In this manner, the hair is heated and combed straight at the same time, resulting in the hair remaining in its straightened state. However, with moisture, the hair will revert back to its natural, curly state, necessitating the hair being straightened again. Consequently, it is possible that a person having curly hair could need to straighten their hair several times a week.
As an alternative to the pressing comb, a nozzle for use with a typical hand-held blow dryer was first introduced for use in straightening out the curl of the African American hair in the 1970's. A thorough discussion of the nozzle and the associated techniques for straightening hair, is included in the 1993 book entitled Cosmetology: The Art and Science of Curly Hair which was written by Willie L. Morrow, the Inventor of the present invention, and is fully incorporated herein by this reference.
The blow dryer nozzle was formed with two rows of teeth which were separated in order for the air from the hair dryer to flow between the teeth to heat the hair during the combing process. While this nozzle provided a localized heating for the rapid evaporation of any moisture within the hair, it was considerably cooler than the straightening comb, and thus did not provide the same straightening effect.
In light of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a blow dryer nozzle which is capable of providing a higher temperature for the straightening of the hair during the blow drying process. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a blow dryer nozzle which is attachable to any blow dryer, and which is relatively easy to manufacture and comparatively cost effective.